Former Mako makes England 7s team [Fairfax]
Mark Bright admits he'd have no qualms about facing the all-conquering Kiwis should England and New Zealand get to meet in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games sevens final.
Nelson-born Bright was this week confirmed in the England sevens team to compete at Glasgow and will be one of eight players in the side set to make their Commonwealth Games debuts. The former Tasman Makos No 8, who played 52 games for the province between 2006 and 2011, had been part of England's training squad for the previous two months, but was still relieved and excited to hear he'd made the final cut.
"I'm super excited about being selected to represent England at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow," Bright said. "It's been a couple of tough months training, but to finally get selected makes it all worth while and I cannot wait to finally get to Glasgow and get started."
As for squaring off against his fellow countryman, who have won all four previous Commonwealth Games titles, Bright said that should that scenario arise, he'd be treating the opposition with the utmost respect.
"It would be a privilege to play against a [New Zealand] team that is going for five on the bounce and just happens to be where I was born and raised. But I'm representing England now, so if this game happens, I'll be good to go."
Now 35, Bright combined the latter part of his Tasman career with a winter career in England, first with Kendal in Cumbria, followed by six seasons at Cornwall club Redruth, where he remains a club legend.
The 1.93m, 108kg loosie is now into his third season with London Scottish, which he captains, with his impressive 21 tries in 28 games during the 2013-14 season seeing him shortlisted for the Championship Player of the Year.
His impressive mobility and ball-carrying skills, coupled with his previous association with the world-renowned Samurai Barracudas sevens team, eventually caught the eye of England's national sevens selectors, resulting in his ultimate selection for Glasgow. His talents certainly weren't wasted on England head sevens coach Simon Amor, Bright earning his place after impressing in the first two rounds of the FIRA-AER European Grand Prix series.
"Mark Bright has been a stand out performer in the Greene King IPA Championship for many years and been named in the league's Dream Team for the past two seasons," Amor said following his initial selection in the England training squad
"I know from my days at London Scottish he is an exceptionally physical ball carrier and will add a real presence to our breakdown area while complementing the skill sets of the other players in our squad.
"His inclusion, as well as that of Tom Bowen, shows how well the Championship is doing right now. It is consistently producing very talented players and we are hoping to develop a number of these through England Sevens. Mark has played a lot on the invitational sevens circuit and has captained the Samurai team to success at several tournaments. Sevens is a very natural game for him and I am confident he will pick up our style of attack and defence quickly."
Bright's well-known competitiveness means he's not daunted by his increasing years.
"The body at 35 is actually feeling really good, which is a surprise to many I bet," Bright quipped.
While New Zealand will obviously attract plenty of attention, Bright said that England had plenty of quality players.
"The key players are Tom Mitchell, who is captain and a great leader, Dan Norton, who is the fifth all time try scorer on the WSS circuit, and Phil Burgess, James Rodwell and Tom Powell who just work all day and have plenty of experience. But to be fair, all the boys bring something different to the squad.
"As for other teams, I think there are a lot of strong squads, so we have to be wary of everyone in a tournament like this."
England's best performance was a silver medal at Melbourne in 2006.
The sevens competition kicks off at Glasgow 's Ibrox Stadium on July 26 and 27.
- The Nelson Mail
